Blake's Not So New Life
by Rythanst
Summary: Getting into Beacon to become a Huntress wasn't as easy as Blake thought. Turns out that hiding in plain sight as a criminal requires more effort than donning a little black bow. With her past still looming over her, how will Blake convince the world that she's a good person?
1. An Unlikely Alliance

Blake woke up to the sound of a crash down the hall. Her eyes felt dried up, as if she'd been crying before she fell asleep. Then she remembered.

_The exam. The police. The interrogation._

The tears started to well up again. Blake Belladonna was locked up in a holding cell in the Vale Police Station. She'd been caught. She thought she could escape her past and have a fresh start. How wrong she was. Now she was in a holding cell with metal bars for doors and concrete for walls. There was even a beeping tracker device on her ankle, likely due to her Semblance being deception based.

_I've got to pull myself together! _

She was lying on the stiff cot in the corner of the cell. Crying wasn't going to help her here. She needed to know what was going on outside the cell, and she needed a plan, fast.

* * *

Yesterday was the day of the entrance exam for Beacon Academy, a place Blake was hoping she'd be attending in a few months. Anyone was welcome to attempt the exam, which was a full day of testing and sparring to determine who possessed the necessary skills to be successful at the prestigious school. Blake knew the risks of being seen in public so shortly after escaping the White Fang, but she felt the need to make things right, to make up for all the hateful things she had done in the past.

The exam was split into a written segment and a sparring segment. The written exam was easier than Blake expected, focusing mostly on Grimm, Dust, and Aura; things she had become quite familiar with over the last few years of training, even without a formal education. It seemed that was the goal of the test; to determine how capable of survival you were. Blake didn't understand why many Hunters and Huntresses in training chose to study at feeder schools instead of practising in the real world like she did.

_I guess some people don't want to have to risk their lives until their future's been secured. _

Blake knew that most people that got accepted into the academies went on the graduate and become licensed Hunters or Huntresses, but until you got that acceptance letter it could be difficult to determine if you could actually fight a large group of Grimm and live to tell about it. Most of the students that got accepted into Beacon could tell you the exact number of Grimm they've slain, and of which type. For people like Blake, however, the number was simply too large to remember. Most Hunters and Huntresses in training her age haven't seen as many Grimm in their lives as Blake's killed in the past month. Blake thought she could use this talent for good, which is why she risked being recognized when she went to the Beacon entrance exam.

It was the sparring portion of the exam that had done her in. This part was split into two; first a fight against Grimm, then a sparring match with another applicant. She did well in the first portion of the sparring, in which she had to fight Beowolves, presumably to determine her fighting skill. She sliced through all eight Beowolves in just under twelve seconds, using Gamble Shroud to slice through the Grimm at their midsection, one of the weak points attacked less frequently by beginners due to many people's intuition to go for the head, but the midsection was just as effective, and more exposed. This strategy worked especially well with her Semblance, since she could bait the Grimm into attacking her clone, then attack them from behind where they can't defend themselves.

The final part of the exam involved sparring someone who had received a similar score to you on the first portion. Blake knew she would be fighting one of the best applicants after her stellar performance against the Grimm. She had to spar another Faunus girl with a large tail who gave Blake a hard time. She wore a navy-blue tunic tied at the waist with a gold coloured cloth belt. She had sky blue leggings on, which matched the colour of her shoulder length hair. The mystery girl also wore quite a lot of jewellery on her wrists, neck, and ears, all of which was gold, and even had her tail pierced! Three different golden rings about an inch apart were attached to the end of her tail.

_That must've hurt to get._

The match started quite unceremoniously when Professor Goodwitch called out, "Begin!". The two Faunus girls circled each other, waiting for an opening. Blake noticed that this girl seemed like a lot more of a threat when she took a battle stance, and Blake was suddenly doubting herself. The girl's eyes seemed to drill into Blake's stare, and for a second it felt like the girl knew all of Blake's deepest, darkest secrets.

_This is insane, she's just another opponent. I can't let myself freeze up!_

While there was something about this girl that made Blake uneasy, she felt like she could beat this feeling if she attacked first, so she jumped at the girl with weapons at the ready.

Even though she was attacking, Blake still felt like she was on the defensive. She searched for an opening, but right when she found one, she found herself hesitating for a moment, and ended up only landing a few weak hits to the girl's torso. She felt extremely uncomfortable trying to get up close and personal with this girl, mainly because the girl fought with four weapons! On her left hand she held a small shield with a razor-sharp edge. The shield had a strange wheel pattern engraved into it, with nine spokes and nine dots in between them. When she saw Blake looking at her shield, the mystery girl jumped backwards and threw it at Blake. Dodging the throw, Blake thought that she had found another opening for attack, but when Blake lunged at the girl, her sheath was met head on with steel. This girl kept a dagger in her left hand too! Blake had rarely seen anyone wield two weapons with one arm in a fight, with the closest thing she could think of being her own Gambol Shroud, so this shield dagger combo caught her off guard. It didn't help that the girl held a short spear in her right hand, as well as another identical short spear with her tail.

Blake was in a total panic at that moment, as the girl had swung her tail around so that spears were pointing at Blake from either side, but it was the girl's shield that struck Blake from behind. It seemed that this girl's dagger and shield were infused with gravity dust, allowing her to throw her shield like a discus, then use the gravity dust imbued in the dagger to return the shield like a boomerang.

With a projectile, a dagger, and two spears circling around her from all directions, Blake simply couldn't keep up. Even when she tried to fall back after the attack, the girl was faster than her and closed the gap almost instantaneously. First it was a slash across the wrist from the dagger, then a too close for comfort miss by the spear in her right hand, followed up by a successful stab to Blake's inner thigh from the tail spear. Even though her Aura absorbed most of it, Blake still winced and fell to her knees in anguish, an even easier target for the girl standing over her. Blake tried to use a shadow clone to get behind her, but the girl's tail blocked the sneak attack, seemingly with a mind of its own, and the girl turned around and bashed Blake in the face with her shield.

After that, the girl unleashed another flurry of blows that Blake could only try to block with no hope of a parry. Blake took hit after hit, trying desperately to fall back and recompose herself, only to find three weapon equipped appendages already striking at her with perfect synchronization. By the time the match was called, Blake had used up almost all her Aura in what felt like a death by a thousand cuts style fight. It seemed the girl's strikes didn't have to a whole lot of damage when she can chain them together so easily.

"And that's the match!" Professor Goodwitch called out, signalling Blake's humiliating defeat, "Ms. Odis is the victor."

Blake wasn't much of a talker, so after the end of the match pleasantries she was off to the camp she had set up in Forever Fall, where she would await the results of the exam.

_At least I have a new book waiting for me back at the camp._

The streets of Vale, usually filled with the sounds of cars and idle chit chat, were eerily quiet. Blake would have normally suspected something, especially since her cat ears allowed her to hear people whispering form quite a distance in an area like this. Unfortunately for her, Blake was lost in thought about who that Faunus girl was and how she was so good. The dexterity required to attack with all those weapons simultaneously was daunting…

_**POW!**_

Next thing Blake knew, she was on the ground with something cold and metallic pointed at the back of her head. In the midst of the throbbing headache and world spinning, she felt her Aura break completely.

_Welp, I'm screwed_.

Unable to use her Semblance, and still sore from the last fight she was in, Blake tilted her head up in the hopes of pleading for mercy, only for a hand to grab her head and her left temple to be met with a blunt object, her bow being ripped from her head as she fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

When Blake awoke, she still had a splitting headache, but now she was handcuffed to a chair with a bright light in her eyes, blinding her. Trying to make out the silhouette of someone in the room by squinting, she called out.

"Who's there? W-Where am I?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well well well, look who's awake." A voice called out from behind the light.

"We got some questions for ya, missy." Another voice.

Blake couldn't tell what was going on, but from the sound of things she was being interrogated by two guys putting on terrible fake accents. The one with the deeper voice piped up.

"You wanna tell us about your little tape?"

Blake was confused. "What are you talking about?"

The one with the higher pitched voice clarified,

"I'm Axel, this is my partner Christian. We're detectives with the Vale Police. You showed up here at the station this evening incapacitated with a Scroll hanging around your neck on a necklace. The only thing on it was this video."

Suddenly the bright light was turned off, reveling the two men standing in front of Blake. The one called Axel had messy black hair, and Christian had short brown hair with a full beard and mustache combo. Other than that, both were dressed pretty much the same; white dress shirt with suspenders and black khakis, with both men wearing sunglasses.

Beside them was a TV on a rolling cart with a scroll hooked up to the video input. What Blake saw made her face go pale. Displaying on the screen was pretty much a "Greatest Hits" of her work with the White Fang over the last four years; footage of her stealing from dust shops, robbing trains, destroying hundreds of thousands of lien worth of SDC property. In those moments she had felt justified in her actions but looking back on them now only filled Blake with shame. She _was_ a criminal, and there was nothing she could do to finesse her way out of the situation.

_I haven't been doing myself any favours by wearing the exact same outfit all this time. Wearing a bow can only deceive people that don't already know what I've done._

"Did you really think you could hide from us?" Axel asked.

"I thought I was doing a pretty good job until someone else caught me for you." Blake loved giving snappy answers to stupid questions.

"Don't get smarmy with me young lady! I have half a mind to throw you in the-"

"Calm down Axel" Christian said, cutting Axel off, "Sorry about my partner, Ms. Belladonna. He can be a bit hot headed so it's best if you just answer our questions and save the commentary."

_Are they seriously trying to good cop, bad cop me right now?_

"Whatever" Blake replied, knowing there wasn't much she could say to defend herself.

"Just based on what we have here" Christian explained with a hint of pity in his voice, "You're looking at a minimum of eight years, and that's if the SDC doesn't press charges…"

"Really? I'm not even an adult you know." Blake was trying to keep it together, but inside she was reeling at the thought of spending the rest of her days locked up, just when she thought she was turning over a new leaf.

"Well there's only so many B&E's, destruction of property, and acts of terrorism we can overlook just because you're a 'kid', kid." Axel retorted with a slick grin. "I'll tell you what, you tell me where Adam Taurus is hiding right now, and I'll make sure to knock three years off your sentence. How does that sound?"

"I'd need to get that one in writing." Blake wasn't going to play games with her life. She needed to think her next moves over carefully if she was going to find away out of this. Or at least to mitigate this…

"Well even if you've got a lot of info for us, you're still probably gonna get two years minimum from your criminal case, and the SDC has a reputation of…making an example out of people like you in civil cases. I'll tell you now the sooner you talk, the better deal you'll get." Christian crossed his arms and gave Blake a shrug, as if to say, '_what are you gonna do about it?'_

What Blake needed was time. "I need to soak this all in. Can we continue this tomorrow?"

Axel scoffed "We don't normally let the criminals dictate the terms. But if you can tell us a bit more about your time with the White Fang, I'm sure you'll find that we can be quite understanding."

_Fair enough. I didn't expect to be let off the hook that easily._

"So, you want to know more about me?"

Christian and Axel both leaned in.

Blake told them her story, making sure to leave out anything that might incriminated her, other than the fact that she was a member of the White Fang; they already knew that. The peaceful protests turned violent. The discrimination. The friends lost to the fight. Both detectives took vigorous notes; leads this good would have to be followed up on.

"And what roll did you play in all these events?" Cross asked.

"What you saw in that video was all of the involvement I had with the White Fang. All the crimes and mistakes I've made were captured on this Scroll." Blake had no idea how all this footage even got filmed, let alone compiled, and while she was technically lying about this being _all_ of her involvement, she wasn't going to voluntarily admit to any additional crimes that weren't on this tape.

_This is the worst stuff I've done anyways, _Blake noted as the video replayed a section where she used Gambol Shroud to systematically dismantle five Atleasian Knights that were supposed to be guarding a small shipment of dust at the Vale Shipyard.

_Who even filmed this?_

The footage was filmed from on top of one of the warehouses nearby, so someone had to have known she was going to be there and staked her out.

_But why? What would they get out of it?_

The pieces were starting to come together in Blake's mind, and she started theorizing.

_Were they going to blackmail me? Did I upset them by leaving the White Fang_?

Then she heard something. Most of the audio from the footage was various loud crashes and bangs from her fighting, but for a brief moment Blake could hear something from _behind _the camera. A soft jingling sound, as if the person filming was holding their car keys. It was very faint; Blake could only hear the sound through her cat ears.

_Who could this be? Everyone I know is associated with the White Fang in some way, but I see everyone that was assigned to this mission in the footage. Also, I remember checking the parking lot to make sure it was empty, so there's no way that that's the sound of car keys!_

Blake was so caught up in thought that she didn't notice the two officers giving her an inquisitive look.

"All right, are you gonna answer my partner's question or not?" Axel said.

"I'm sorry, what was the question?" Blake assumed she had zoned out and didn't hear them talking to her.

"Don't think you can play stupid with me!" Axel face was getting red. "You wanna play the waiting game that's fine by me." He motioned to Christian, who got up and headed for the door. "We'll continue this conversation tomorrow."

Axel got up, removed her handcuffs, and led Blake to a holding cell, throwing her in with enough force to make her stumble and fall. She was alone and encaged, with the loud _CLUNK _of the metal door slamming shut emphasizing the point.

Sitting in the middle of the cell, mind racing, Blake had no idea how she was going to get out of this one. Even if she could escape, there's no way she could get the tracker off without Gambol Shroud, which was undoubtedly stored somewhere she wouldn't have access to. Blake sat there contemplating her next move for what felt like hours before she passed out on the cot, tears running down her face.

* * *

The loud crash that had awoken Blake didn't seem to be an isolated incident, as many voices and noises could be heard coming from somewhere within the depths of the police station. Having never been arrested before, Blake wasn't familiar with the layout of the building, and as such had no idea what this commotion was about, or if it could be used to her advantage.

About a minute passed before the place fell silent, and Blake feel someone's presence down the hall. Her cat ears twitched as she listened to the soft sound of rubber on concrete; someone was walking her way.

Suddenly there was a terrible smell of smoke in the air. Blake took a step back to avoid the stench, when a man appeared before the door.

The man standing in front of her was wearing a white blazer with black and gold buttons, a grey scarf, and a black bowler hat with a red stripe that partially covered his orange hair. He slowly removed the cigar from his mouth and blew a puff of smoke into the cell while leaning on his cane.

"Hey kitty cat. I've got a proposition for you."

_Who's this creep?_

"I'm in need of some new recruits," The man said in a sultry voice, "and I heard you're the new hot shot on the block."

"Uh… What?" Blake had no idea what this guy was talking about.

"I run a little production across Vale's underground, and I'm trying to make a play. I need someone to help me with some heavy lifting until I can get some backup, capiche?"

"I don't know what you're insinuating, but I'm not in the business of committing crime." Blake was getting frustrated with this guy, who seemed to think she was going to help someone like him.

"Ooh, the kitty's got claws! But it seems that we're on the wrong sides of these bars if what you're saying is true."

"I gave up my life of crime! I want to live a good life and make up for my mistakes. Undo all the evil I've done, not add to it!" It was as if Blake was repeating a conversation that she had had with herself a few months ago when she was thinking about leaving the White Fang.

"Well it doesn't look like the law is going to give you that second chance to redeem yourself" The man leaned in, sticking his face right up to the bars, "But I can."

_Why is this man so interested in me? Can't he see that I don't want to help him?_

"The name's Roman Torchwick, and making miracles happen is a little hobby of mine. Tell you what, if you're so eager to prove yourself as a hero, I'll help you. I just need someone to watch my back for a bit. There's a new crook in town and if I don't watch my step, I could end up dead, or even worse, working _for _her! She's already approached me with an offer I can't refuse. You'll only be fighting off wanted criminals, and you can bring any of the guys you beat up to the police, much like someone seems to have done to you-"

"How do you know about that?!" Blake was furious.

_I've heard of this Roman guy before, but how does he know so much? Did he have something to do with my arrest? With the video?_

"You should know how fast word travels beneath the streets" Torchwick smirked, "And before you ask: No, I don't know who turned you in, but I'm sure you'll find out faster working with me than by yourself. Also, in case you aren't on board with my idea just yet, there's another man looking for you. I'm sure you know him well. If you don't come with me, there's little doubt that he'll be here sooner rather than later."

_Oh no. Adam._

"Judging by the look on your face, you didn't see that one coming. Don't worry, if you come with me, I'll keep you far away from that crazy stalker boy of yours. Aren't I generous?" Roman chuckled at his own cunningness like anyone with even a small bit of egomania would.

"You've really backed me into a corner, haven't you?" Blake _really_ didn't want to go with Roman, but right now it seemed like the only option.

"You backed yourself into this one all by yourself, little lady."

And with that Torchwick pointed his cane at the lock and blasted a three-inch-wide hole straight through the metal. The door slid open and Blake knew there was no turning back.

_It's not like I had a better plan anyways. Besides, I can just ditch this scumbag as soon as I'm somewhere safe. _

Torchwick started walking down the corridor unceremoniously, with Blake having to jog out of the cell to catch up. The two walked through the twists and turns of the police station in silence, eventually arriving at the evidence locker.

"It's been a while since I've raided police storage." Torchwick smiled, "See anything you like?"

Blake ignored the question and searched for Gambol Shroud. It was easily found, along with her scroll, in a locker labelled _'Belladonna'_. A look of worry suddenly came across her face.

_I hope my parents don't get dragged into this. I should have left the White Fang with them…_

But now wasn't the time for regrets. She had to get out of here, and fast. She approached Torchwick, who was filling a duffel bag with various dust crystals and weapons lying around. Strangely, there was a locker labelled _'Torchwick'_, but the man hadn't even glanced at it.

"Uh… don't you want your stuff back?" Blake asked, confused.

"I've been stealing from the cops for years, honey. There's so many hidden trackers in there that they've probably got a guy working full time just to maintain them."

"Speaking of trackers," Blake responded, remembering something very important, "can you get this thing off me?"

Lifting her leg at Torchwick, Blake hoped he'd pull a lockpick out and get it off right then and there, but Roman just looked at her ankle with disinterest.

"Unless you want me to knock your socks off with your feet still in them, I can't help you. The device is made with a strong metal that's resistant to most cutting tools, but I know a guy who can get that off. For a price, of course."

"Then how do you expect me to get out of here without leading them right to us?" Blake was angry and confused, but mostly angry.

"With this!" Torchwick pulled a device out of an unlabelled locker. The thing looked like a makeshift signal router that was built by hand from scraps. "This is a wireless signal jammer. If you're close to this, that tracker is as good as useless." He flicked the switch on the back and a LED symbol on the front lit up; a wifi signal with a red 'X' through it.

_So, I have to follow this guy around until I can find his friend…_

"Ok. Let's move." Blake said, wanting nothing more than to get of there.

"Hmph. I've never seen a woman more eager to get back to my place!" Torchwick remarked with a sly grin, making sure to give Blake a promiscuous look that she hoped she'd never have to see again in her life.

The two swiftly made their way to the back exit, with Blake growing more and more suspicious as to why they hadn't met any resistance yet. Once they got out of the station, Torchwick signaled Blake towards a side alleyway where they hopped down a manhole and into the sewers beneath the streets. Despite the horrid stench, Blake felt a lot better now that she was out of sight of any potential authorities. Following Torchwick, she made her way through a series of secret tunnels that led to a metal door. Torchwick grabbed a set of keys from his pocket to open the door, and suddenly Blake had a realization.

"Were you the one who was filming me?!" She questioned but was almost certain in her accusation.

"What are you talking about?" Said Torchwick, confused.

"The police only knew I was a criminal because someone's been following me around and spying on me."

"Look, sweetheart. I don't have the time or the concern to set someone like you up. Someone obviously wanted to get you out of the way and I just took advantage of an easy opportunity. There's plenty of people I could get to do my dirty work, but you're the most talented and easiest to convince."

Blake wasn't entirely convinced, but the man seemed too obsessed with himself to actually go out and frame someone else. If anything, it was one of his henchmen, but she'd have to figure that one out for herself. She walked through the door into a large room.

Now safely inside one of Torchwick's hideouts, Blake was straight to business.

"So, where's this friend of yours that can get this tracker off?"

"Easy there. You know what they say curiosity did to the cat" Torchwick replied dismissively. "You just broke out of prison; you have to lay low for a bit while the cops are looking for you."

"Then bring him to me!" Blake was getting fed up with this.

"Ok look. Here's how it's going to go." Roman seemed equally as fed up with her, "I want you to do some jobs for me. I'll pay you to work for me. I can give you the guy's address, and when you have enough money to pay him to get that thing off of you, you're free to go. Until then you'll have a pretty hard time avoiding the police, and I doubt you can find another way to get lien. It's an equivalent exchange; your freedom for some grunt work. I'll even let you have the signal jammer, so you can do errands or whatever. I promise you it's better than any deal you could have made with the police and you can go right back to your life when it's over."

Blake was balling her hands into fists with rage.

_I'm never going to get rid of this guy!_

"Ugh. Just tell me what I have to do." Blake said quietly, finally admitting defeat, "And only work that'll help get criminals off the streets!"

"See! I get rid of some competition and you get to be the hero. It's a win-win!" Torchwick was excited, Blake could tell he was picturing all of the power plays he could make with someone as skilled as her by his side.

_It's settled; I'll help him out until this tracker's off of me, then I'll take him down._

The two climbed a set of stairs that took them back above ground, into what looked like an abandoned warehouse. There were rows of shelves as far as the eye could see, filled with various goods that were likely not obtained through any legal means. Boxes of dust and weapons, as well as paintings and jewellery were scattered about in a somewhat organized fashion. Torchwick took his duffel bag of police station loot and plopped it onto an empty table next to a wall. This spot seemed like a makeshift office, with a desk and chair nearby, along with some maps and booklets.

Seeing all the paper lying around made Blake miss her books. All of her books were back at her makeshift camp out in Forever Fall. In fact, all of her belongings that weren't on her person were stored in that camp. The only thing she had other than that was the mailbox that she was renting out at the Vale Post Office. Ideally, she was going to live at her camp until she got an acceptance letter into Beacon.

_Hopefully no one's found the camp yet._

Blake saw a book on the desk titled _'Remarkable Grimm and Where to Find Them'_, picked it up, and started skimming through the pages.

"Wow Roman." She remarked, "I didn't take you for an avid reader."

"Oh that? That's a gift for a friend. I ain't much of a bookworm, so if you see anything around here you wanna read, feel free to amuse yourself."

"Who's this friend of yours?" Blake found herself genuinely interested.

_I can't believe he cares about someone enough to get them a gift. He doesn't seem all that charitable…_

"If you wanna know more about her, you can ask her yourself. She's coming back soon, and I wanted to get her something. There's a box in the back that has a bunch of her books if you're bored." Roman motioned off in a particular direction and Blake went searching.

Sure enough, on one of the bottom shelves at the back wall there was a box of books with a small layer of dust on it. Blake reached down and went to pull the box out and noticed on the side someone had written in marker, _'Neo's Book Collection'_. Opening the box, Blake found a ton of books about dust, aura, and fighting styles.

_Seems like this Neo girl wants to be a Huntress too._

Underneath this layer of books there was a bunch of fiction titles, most of which Blake had already read. She picked out one book in particular, _'The Man with Two Souls'_. This was a book that Blake had been planning on reading. The author, Ursula Berpdioloo, was one of Blake's favourites, but she hadn't found the time to start reading the book. Picking it up, she found a couch to sit on and read comfortably.

After reading a few chapters, Blake started to get tired. Torchwick had come busted her out of jail at around 3 am, and it was now 6 am. Figuring a quick nap wouldn't hurt, she lied down on the couch and started to drift off to sleep.

_I wonder, what's Torchwick going to have me do?_


	2. The Test

"Really?! A cat-nap?"

Blake woke up to the voice of an annoyed Torchwick. It appeared to be morning, as daylight was pouring in from the second story windows of the warehouse.

Rolling off the couch and onto her feet, Blake rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She was way too tired to be dealing with her pseudo boss right now.

"What do you want?" She asked reluctantly.

"Your first day on the job and you're already this jaded? I might have to bring this up on your performance review…" Roman was having too much fun with this.

The more Blake learned about Torchwick, the more she understood why she hated him. If front of her was a man who possessed the strength and determination to bring about change, but instead wasted his gifts for personal gain. He teased and belittled others just so he could feel like he was in control of the situation around him. Torchwick didn't seem to care what others thought about him, as long as he got what he wanted.

Blake's thoughts wandered to Adam. Unlike Torchwick, Adam's feelings towards anyone not aligned with him were full of spite and vitriol.

_Perhaps Roman's more apathetic view towards others is better than Adam's personal vendetta against the world? _

Either way, both men seemed to hate being ignored, as Blake noticed when Torchwick's smile quickly faded when she completely ignored him and started fixing her hair. Realizing she lost her bow when she got arrested, Blake made a mental note to get another one as soon as she could, if only to avoid being recognized as easily on the streets.

"You seem stressed" said Torchwick, not willing to be silent for any long stretch of time, "I don't know why, you've done a lot of work like this before I'm sure."

Tired of always being the one asked a bunch of questions, Blake resolved that she should ask Torchwick something to keep him from annoying her with his snooping.

"What made you choose this line of work?" Blake figured that asking Roman to talk about himself was the best way to keep him from annoying her.

Roman gave Blake a look of surprise before starting, "Breaking the law is how I've survived this long."

"Yeah, but haven't you ever thought about trying to do some good?" Blake was glad the spotlight was finally off of her.

"I do good things every day! Take yesterday: I held the door open for a man I had just pickpocketed, tipped the waitress at the restaurant I was eating at with his money, and I helped a pretty girl get out of a misunderstanding with the law." The sarcasm in Torchwick's voice was quite apparent, but there was still a sense of entitlement that people who thought they were above the law had.

"Have you ever thought about not breaking the law?" Blake knew Torchwick wasn't the type of person to have a life changing revelation from a conversation but figured she could at least get some insight into the man.

"Yeah, I break the law, but does that make me a bad person? Here's a lesson I thought you of all people would have learned by now; The law isn't good. The law exists so that the people in charge can do whatever they want, and the people at the bottom like you and me have to pick through the scraps to get by. Think about it, if I hadn't come by and picked you up, you'd probably be killed off by some member of the White Fang trying to keep you from talking. That's just the way things are. The police would sell off your stuff and buy their spouses something nice with the money."

Blake could practically see Torchwick hopping on the metaphorical soapbox.

"But we can't live in chaos! Many laws are stupid but some laws-"

"Laws are just rules that keep people from doing what they want, and what people want is to have power. You think the people in the government and CEO's of companies got to where they are now by following the law? Life is like a casino; if you play by their rules, you'll always lose. Everyone knows the house always wins! I say sneak in with an ace in up your sleeve and have some fun. I'd rather be kicked out of the establishment rich, than walk out broke, if you get what I'm saying."

Blake understood where Torchwick was coming from. His past had obviously skewed his views of right and wrong. It would be hypocritical of her to think that the law is the end all be all of true justice, as someone who had to work outside the law to try to bring about her idea of justice.

_Maybe I should change the subject before I start sympathizing with the criminal._

"Whatever, what did you want me to do?" Questioned Blake, not wanting to admit that she partially agreed with some of the things he had said.

"Well," Torchwick said matter-of-factly, clearly considering himself to have just won an argument, "I'm going to give you an easy task. It won't pay particularly well, but if you can do it for me, I'll let you tag along for some bigger jobs. I need you to deliver this package to an associate of mine in the upper-class district in the north west part of the city."

"You want me to go to the rich district?" Blake was concerned, "but I'll stand out too easily"

"Well that's part of the challenge. Consider it a test. If you pass and get back here by nightfall, I'll let you do jobs where you're stopping criminals. Just don't lead anyone back here." Roman was back to using his dismissive tone.

Blake found the package in question on the table that she had seen all the maps laid out on yesterday. It was a large brown envelope stitched shut with green twine. No lettering was present on it, but it did have some heft to it, as Blake was surprised by how heavy the envelope was when she went to pick it up.

"Ok, where exactly is this going?" Blake was already planning her path to and from the part of town in question.

_Of course, I'll make a couple of 'stops' along the way…_

"There's an old house two blocks east from the bank on First Street. It has stucco walls and a green door. Place the envelope inside the doghouse in the backyard, and don't be seen."

"Can't you just give me an address? Why can't I just drop it in the mailbox?"

"Welcome to Vale's underground crime network. You won't find a group of more paranoid people this side of Sanus. I'm just relaying the instructions to you. If you got problems, take it up with the people who want what's in there." Roman said, motioning to the envelope in Blake's hands, "Although, I doubt you could run into them and live to complain about it."

"What _is_ in here anyway?"

"It's best you don't ask. Run along now, no one likes a postal worker who delivers their packages late."

Blake didn't want to sit in the warehouse theorizing about what she was delivering, so she took the signal jammer off the table, put it in her backpack, and was off. Exiting the warehouse, Blake quickly realized she didn't even know where this warehouse _was_.

_This might be a bit harder than I expected._

There were a few buildings in the proximity, but none of them were recognisable. Blake figured she was in Vale's industrial district and used the rising sun's position in the sky to orient herself. Now it was only a matter of getting from the industrial district to the upper-class district undetected.

Normally, Blake travelled by rooftop for stealth missions like this, but the surrounding buildings were too sparse, having many large gaps between them to accommodate whatever materials were being moved around them. Unable to find an immediate alternative, Blake started walking down the street, arms crossed with anxiety.

Suddenly, there was a truck approaching from behind Blake on the road adjacent to her. Seizing the opportunity, Blake sent a shadow clone of herself into the street and moved into position to board the truck. Since it was moving in the direction she was headed, it could only save her time, and if she played her cards right, Blake would be quite hard to spot by any wary eyes.

The driver, seeing the shadow clone of Blake in the middle of the street, swerved and honked as he tried to maneuver around the illusion. While the truck was swerving, Blake threw the blade of Gambol Shroud into its side, hanging on with the ribbon she had attached to the weapon. Using the ribbon as a slingshot, Blake accelerated herself onto the side of the truck. The shadow clone was a decoy, making the truck swerve so it wouldn't notice Blake slamming into the side. Now on the vehicle, Blake removed Gambol Shroud from the truck's side and swung herself underneath the chassis. Blake hooked Gambol Shroud on the differential and crawled forward to the axle. Even though she was upside down, Blake could get a good view of where the truck was headed.

* * *

About half an hour later, the truck made a turn and started heading west, and Blake needed to get off and reorient herself. At the next stop light, Blake unhooked Gambol Shroud and rolled out from under the truck. She was no longer in the industrial part of town, and with plenty of tall buildings around her, she used Gambol Shroud to fling herself onto a nearby rooftop.

Now above and away from all the trouble the streets were going to giver her, Blake made her way north. Swinging from building to building was nice, despite being dangerous, and it wasn't long before Blake was amongst the nicer houses of Vale.

_Now where is this bank?_

Blake wasn't exactly familiar with the street names in this part of town, so she opted to look for the bank before she looked for First Street. Looking from intersection to intersection on top of the taller buildings in the area, eventually Blake saw a storefront with a sign with a picture of Lien on it. Blake focused her eyes on the intersection sign and sure enough it was a 'First Street'.

With it being close to noon, the sun was high in the sky, making it difficult to determine which way was east, especially since Blake had been a bit lackadaisical when it came to keeping track of which direction she was swinging and jumping between the rooftops. Lucky for her, she had her scroll on her which had a map of the area on it. Blake also realized that her scroll had a compass function on it, feeling a bit foolish for having used the sun as a means to guide her.

_Better to be too resourceful than not resourceful enough, I guess._

Heading two blocks east of the bank, Blake saw a house matching Torchwick's description. She was almost home free! The only problem was that this street wasn't as empty as the other ones Blake had been on. Sitting on a bench on a porch just two doors down from the target building was a girl wearing a white dress. Even worse for Blake was that this girl didn't seem to have anything better to do than twirl her parasol and look up and down the street, and Blake was worried that this girl's faraway eyes may catch a glimpse of her if she wasn't careful.

Blake made her way back down onto the streets, careful to not be seen now that she was approaching the target. She was hyper aware of the lack of bow on her head, remembering how upper-class people generally looked down at the Faunus; there was no way Blake could try and blend in. Figuring the best way to get into the backyard would be from the opposite side of the girl, Blake walked around the block so that she could approach the green doored building from the optimal side.

The bench the girl was on didn't give her a full view of the street, so Blake got as close as she reasonably could to the target before she snuck into the back yard of the house four houses away from her goal. Looking over the fence, she could see the part of the backyard she wanted to get into, and what she assumed was the top of the doghouse.

_This has to be it!_

This was the final stretch. If Blake could get in and out of this backyard unnoticed, she was free to do whatever she wanted for the rest of day. Scanning the other yards and roofs, there wasn't a soul to be found, so Blake quietly hopped fence after fence until she was in the target backyard. Sure enough, there was a red doghouse with a wooden roof in the corner of the yard. Blake walked up, put the envelope inside and up against the side wall so that no one would see it from a distance, and backed away.

Now the issue was getting out of the backyard. There were three yards adjacent to this one, with at least one person in the area that could spot Blake. Going up the street wasn't going to work with the girl in the white dress around to spot her, but going back the way she came could be risky as it'd be a dead giveaway to anyone that may have seen Blake enter the backyards that she was doing something suspicious. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the path and potential lines of sight, Blake opted to hop into the yard of the house on the adjacent street. This way anyone on the streets seeing her exit the backyard wouldn't have seen her enter the yards, so they wouldn't know her path.

Part of being stealthy was knowing not to look suspicious, so Blake walked past the house she was behind and back onto the street at a moderate pace. If anyone saw her creeping around, they'd immediately assume the worst, so moving confidently was the key. Now back on the streets, Blake left the residential district and found the nearest alley. She started walking, planning on where she should go first. It was around noon and Blake had to be back at Torchwick's warehouse by nightfall, so she had plenty of time.

_Maybe I should try to find the electronics guy Roman was talking about. If he's not super close with Roman I could probably just leav-_

"I thought stealth was one of your strong suits."

Blake turned around and unsheathed Gambol Shroud. Before her was a woman leaning on the bricks of the alley, arms crossed. The girl had a steel breastplate that covered her torso but left her muscular, tattooed arms exposed, except for the steel bracers on her wrists. She had flared silk trousers that were mahogany coloured, with matching boots.

The woman started walking towards Blake, whipping her back length brown hair and staring at Blake with her hazel eyes.

"So, you're Roman's new lackey? Probably won't be for long at this rate."

Confused, Blake kept her weapon drawn and slowly walked backwards.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Blake asked.

"I'm one of your boss's colleagues. People call me Uma. I ordered some things from him that you were supposed to deliver today. You did good not to check what was in the envelope, that would've gotten you killed on the spot, but your technique was quite unimpressive."

"What's going on?" Blake asked shakily. She still had no idea why this conversation was happening, and Uma's threatening appearance and lack of reassurance was raising all sorts of red flags in Blake's head.

"This was a test." Uma said in a deadpan voice, "and you're not getting a good grade. You were quick and sloppy Blake, and that's not going to cut it. There's a new player in town, and she plays for keeps. If your job involved her, you'd be dead, but I'm a bit more generous than that."

Uma held out her left arm as if she was going to choke Blake with it. Blake immediately shuffled backwards, but suddenly something felt off. It was as if someone was grabbing Blake and pulling her towards Uma, and Blake quickly found herself struggling to continue to move backwards. She stepped back about three more feet before the force pulling Blake grew too large and her feet started sliding along the ground. The closer she got the stronger the force felt, and Blake found herself flying headfirst towards Uma's outstretched hand.

With her shadow clones being useless in this situation, Blake swung Gambol Shroud at Uma in a desperation attempt, but without missing a beat Uma grabbed Blake's wrist with her left hand, pulling Blake even closer.

_What is going on-_

Before Blake could even think, Uma's right hand was on Blake's throat, lifting her off the ground.

"I suggest you take your job a bit more seriously." Uma said with a look of grim satisfaction on her face, "just because you're not scared of the police doesn't mean there's much scarier things out there."

Blake was struggling to breathe. Her Aura could only do so much against the sheer strength of Uma's hand on her throuat, and her left had a similar death grip on Blake's wrist. There was no way out of this.

"Now then, off you go!" Uma said as she threw Blake into the brick wall beside her.

Taking a moment to gather herself, Blake sat on the ground. She thought the job had gone perfectly, but apparently, she's on thin ice.

_The White Fang wouldn't have choked me out for that one._

Blake shook her head. She shouldn't be comparing what she was doing now with the White Fang. This was just a temporary setback until she could get into Beacon. Acceptance letters were due to be sent out in a few weeks and Blake was hoping that the admissions office didn't have a very thorough background check.

Looking over to her assailant, Blake was surprised to see no one there. Just like that, she was alone in the alley. Blake thought that her life as a criminal had taught her how to live life on the streets, but whatever she was mixed up in was a lot more than Blake wanted to have to handle.

_I need to find that electronics guy and get this tracker off of me before it's too late!_

* * *

Finding a random underground business in Vale was no easy task, especially with a deadline of one day. Blake was going to have to use all of her resourcefulness to track this place down. Walking down the streets of Vale, she knew she'd have to go to the not so nice parts of town to get any leads.

First up was the thrift shop on the southern part of town. It took a while to get there but Blake was confident someone here would be aware of any sketchy side businesses in the area. After purchasing a replacement black bow for her cat ears, and some new boots that covered up the ankle bracelet better, Blake started asking around for a place she could 'get some old electronics fixed'. Throwing in the more obvious hint of 'I'm looking for someone that can…take something off my hands for a price' seemed to jog the memory of one of the locals, and Blake was quickly directed to a storefront a few blocks away, being asked to 'take the back entrance'.

Blake was cutting through an alley to get to the shop when she found herself at an alley intersection. She walked straight through it but glanced over to her left and saw something that made her heart jump. There, down the alley, were two people talking. One of them had a White Fang uniform on and had their back to Blake. The other, facing in Blake's direction, tilted her head and made eye conduct with Blake.

_Uh oh._

Instantly one of the woman's eye ignited into an orange fire and Blake, not wanting to be burned alive in an alley, proceeded to sprint as far away as she could. Making a turn, Blake saw a metal door and figured it would make a good hiding spot. Sending a shadow clone down the alley, Blake ran up to the door, cracked it open, swung herself inside, and shut it, all in one fluid motion. With her back against the door, Blake listened in horror as someone slowly walked past the door and stopped for a moment, before turning around. Their footsteps eventually faded away back in the direction she had come from.

"This ain't a shelter. Either buy something or get out."

Blake looked up and saw a man sitting in an office chair at a desk with various mechanical equipment lying around. The man wore blue coveralls and was holding a soldering iron in his hands. At the centre of the desk was a Scroll that had been taken apart. The room was very barebones, only having the desk, a chair, a lamp, and a bunch of tools. There was only one other door into the room.

Scared, surprised, and confused, Blake asked, "Do you know a Roman Torchwick? I'm looking for an electronics specialist that can help me out."

"Lemme guess, you got an ankle bracelet you want off?" The man went back to working on the Scroll in front of him.

"Uh…Yeah." Blake was meeting a lot of people today that she had a bad feeling about, "I just want to know how much it'll cost."

"50,000 lien. Upfront."

Blake was shocked. She had robbed entire dust shipments worth less than that.

"Is there like a… first time customer discount?" Blake asked with a nervous laugh.

"Come back when you have the lien, you know where to find me." The man said dismissively, shooing Blake away with his hand, not making eye contact with her.

Blake exited the store and made her way back to the streets, moving as quietly as possible and looking around paranoid that the woman with the burning eyes would be waiting for her, much like Uma did. Fortunately, Blake made it out of the alleys in one piece. Now back on the street, Blake finally had a moment to herself for what felt like the first time today.

_Well today was a bust, but at least I got a new bow. I guess I should go back to Roman. Hopefully he pays well, I can't imagine having to work for him for long._

* * *

The trek back to the warehouse was long and uneventful, but Blake finally got back with a few hours to spare before sunset. From the outside the warehouse looked completely inconspicuous, with no lights or sounds to be seen or heard. Blake walked in the side door and was immediately suspicious. The inside of the warehouse was dark, meaning either no one was home, something had happened to Torchwick, or there was an imminent ambush.

The answer was made immediately clear as a single light turned on, illuminating the desk in the middle of the warehouse, and walking into the light was none other than Torchwick.

"Well, well ,well if it isn't the problematic protégé." Roman said with a smirk, as he always does when he starts a conversation.

"I did the job. Can you just skip the lecture and pay me?" Blake replied, having been through the motions enough times now.

"Not so fast. You really let me down today, Blake. Did you really think the job was as easy as walking into a backyard? I heard you were in and out in ten minutes flat. This isn't a race! If you're not going to be stealthy, perhaps I can still use you as muscle?"

Blake was getting more aggravated by the sentence, "Do I get a choice?"

"You never had a choice," Torchwick said with a smile, "and now you got to prove yourself all over again. Let's see what you can do. Neo!"

Out of the shadows, a figure emerged. The woman in the white dress! Noticeably shorter up close, she smiled at Blake while holding up her parasol. Suddenly shards of glass broke off from her, changing her appearance. Now she was wearing a white and brown outfit, had pink and brown hair, and heterochromia eyes.

"You two are going to fight, and I'm going to decide if you're worth the trouble." Torchwick declared, letting his voice get a little raspy at the end.

"Your opinion on me seems to have changed quite drastically." Blake said with deadpan sarcasm.

The three walked into an open area of the warehouse. Torchwick moved over to the side, and Neo stood opposite to Blake, closed parasol on her shoulders.

Torchwick assumed the position of a referee and chimed in, "Alright ladies! I want a nice clean fight. That means no murdering each other. Right Neo?"

Neo looked over at Roman and frowned.

_Ok, I just have to take care of this quiet girl with the parasol who can change her appearance. This can't go worse than the match I had yesterday, right? _

Blake drew Gambol Shroud and prepared for a strike. She hadn't done any training since her last defeat, but Blake wasn't going to make the same mistakes. Although Neo seemed to fight differently than that girl, simply standing before Blake in a battle stance, forcing Blake to make the first move. Slowly circling Neo, Blake was having trouble finding any openings. It was obvious that Neo knew more about Blake than she did about Neo, so Blake decided she needed to make a move that would give her some information.

Blake feigned a strike; lunging towards Neo as if she was going to attack her but sending a shadow clone in her place at the last second. The real Blake stepped around Neo at started to swing at her from behind. Sure enough, Neo took the bait and countered Blake's shadow clone's strike, her parasol whiffing through the air where she thought Blake was. Not wanting to waste this perfect opportunity, Blake attacked quickly and struck Neo in the back, except instead of recoiling in pain, Neo shattered into glass shards.

Confused, Blake stood at the illusion for a second too long and found herself getting struck in the back by Neo's parasol. Turning around, Blake saw Neo with a smirk on her face not too different from Roman's.

"Seems like we have similar Semblances, huh?" Blake commented. She rarely ever spoke during a fight, but Neo's constant silence combined with the sadist grin she was making just after hurting her was making Blake uncomfortable.

Neo pursed her lips in response to this, possibly because she didn't like having things in common with Blake, or maybe it was because Blake ruined the moment for her; Blake would never know.

This time it was Neo who approached Blake and prepared to strike. Blake raised both parts of Gambol Shroud up to protect herself, but Neo swung her parasol out in front of her to meet the sheath. Then, Neo roundhouse kicked Blake in the wrist, pushing her back. Blake, assuming Neo was using her legs to aim for a headshot despite their stark height difference, closed the distance between them and swung low. This proved mildly effective, as Neo did an aerial flip over Blake's arms and instinctively swung her parasol at waist height upon landing as a counter, but Blake had crouched under it and had finally found an opening. Jabbing at Neo's side with the hilt of Gambol Shroud, Blake managed to land a successful blow, causing Neo to jump backwards and wince.

Now visibly frustrated, Neo lunged at Blake, her parasol leading the charge. Blake took a defensive stand yet again, but this time when Neo's parasol met Gambol Shroud, it shattered. Instantly recognizing the illusion, Blake put a shadow clone in her place and retreated backwards. Not a second later, Neo struck Blake's illusion from the side. Seeing a similar opportunity as before, Blake jumped at Neo and jabbed at her back with the sheath of Gambol Shroud. Again, the instance of Neo shattered into glass, and just like that the fight turned into a chess match.

Landing and looking up, Blake made eye contact with Neo, who was standing just outside of striking distance. Both girls stared each other down, knowing that they couldn't know if what they were attacking was the real thing. Tightening the grips on their weapons, the scowls on their faces intensified, and the two girls ran at each other.

The two approached and swung at each other, with Neo's parasol cutting right through Blake's apparition. Then Neo shattered into bits as the real Blake shot dust at her from a distance with Gambol Shroud. Neo was suddenly behind her but again the attack hit only a shadow of Blake, before Neo's form disintegrated once more due to being struck from the shadows. Now neither fighter could see the other, both hiding amongst the warehouse shelves, well outside the predefined battlefield, searching for the other and their illusions.

After a few minutes of intense anticipation, a voice called out throughout the warehouse.

"All right, ALL RIGHT!" Torchwick boomed, annoyed, "Bring it in ladies, fight's over! We'll call it a draw…"

"What?!" Blake protested, now revealing herself from the shadows, "All that for a draw?"

"I don't have all night. Besides, you held your own. And I already know you're stealthy enough to avoid the cops, which is good enough for me, even through you're prone to walk straight into an ambush." Torchwick was annoyed but didn't seem to want to get into an argument.

Neo appeared from behind a set of shelves, gesticulating at Roman angrily. It seemed she was quite invested in her fight with Blake.

"It seems you've made a good first impression with Neo, Blake." Torchwick said, smiling at Neo.

_This girl is definitely going to murder me._

"Ok, here's what's going to happen." Torchwick declared with scheming eyes, "I have a meeting next week with some crazy lady about my future in the independent crime syndicate business, and I'm going to need some muscle to back me up. You two can train with each other here so you're both in tip top shape. With your strength and my charisma, we should be able to make the most out of these negotiations. Who knows, maybe we can even rough them up a bit and send them packing?"

"How much will you pay?" Blake asked, straight to the point, "Also how much are you going to pay me for delivering your package today?"

"Here." Torchwick replied, throwing a small pouch at Blake, "There's another 5000 where that came from if we all get out of this meeting alive."

Blake caught the pouch and opened it. Inside there was 1000 Lien.

_This is going to take a while_.

Looking at her ankle tracker, Blake knew she didn't have a choice. On the bright side, she was finally getting a chance to train, even if it was against a girl who looked like she'd kill Blake just for the fun of it.

"Ok. I'm in."


	3. Hazards

The next week of training was brutal. Blake thought that she had learned a lot from sparring Adam, who was exceptionally skilled and taught Blake much of what she knew about fighting, but Neo had a completely different fighting style. Neo focused more on using her body to maneuver around strikes and parried with her parasol. While this strategy was somewhat similar to Blake's, the Faunus tended to rely solely on her Semblance to dodge attacks, while Neo used her Semblance and her body in tandem. On top of that, Neo had the elasticity of a professional gymnast, and constantly surprised Blake by moving in ways she didn't think were possible. The two sparred countless times throughout the week leading up to Torchwick's meeting, and Neo won every time. The closest Blake had come to winning was towards the end of the week, when she managed to get Neo's Aura low. In that moment, Blake had noticed a brief expression of panic on Neo's face before she recomposed herself and proceeded to end the fight quickly, only using her parasol and fighting from a distance. This seemed like something Blake could take advantage of in a rematch, but she never got Neo's Aura that low again.

Despite losing every bout, Blake felt that she had learned a great deal about how to read her opponents and counter them.

_I suppose the benefit of fighting someone with a similar sparring style and Semblance is that you pick up a lot more tricks that you can actually use._

It was finally the morning of Torchwick's highly anticipated meeting. Blake hadn't done any missions for him since she got chastised for not being stealthy enough. She didn't have any real desire to impress Torchwick, but Blake knew that this could possibly be the first opportunity for her to fight criminals, and she owed it to herself to fight to the best of her abilities.

Torchwick had been out of the warehouse a lot in the last week, and after she found out Neo is mute, Blake felt a lot lonelier. She used her free time to read books, which caught Neo's attention, and towards the end of the week Neo started texting with Blake through their Scrolls. The conversations were mostly about book recommendations, but Blake took comfort in actually being able to communicate with someone else other than Torchwick. It also let Blake see a different side of Neo, who was quite expressive in her texts. Whereas before all she really knew about Neo was her confidence and possible sadism, now she was seeing a much warmer and playful side of her.

* * *

Blake was steeping some tea in a kitchenette in the corner of the warehouse by herself. Despite being held semi-captive, the warehouse had a lot of amenities that she had trouble getting at her camp that she had been staying at prior. She had made a few requests for different supplies to make her stay a little more comfortable, and Torchwick delivered. The cupboards were stocked with teas and canned tuna just for Blake, and her stay was feeling more like a training regiment than a job.

After a few minutes of silence, Blake heard a door open, and Torchwick and Neo started slowly approaching her from behind. The kitchenette had no walls, so Blake could hear them coming from across the warehouse, even without her cat ears. The two had emerged from an office looking modular room within the building, similar to how a warehouse foreman would exit their office to approach their employees.

There were many rooms that existed within the warehouse, which was separated into two floors by a set of metal stairs on the north side. With the cleanliness and efficient layout of the place, it was almost as if the warehouse was being used by a legitimate business. Roman and Neo both seemed to live within the building, but Blake had never seen either of their bedrooms, having never stepped into one of the enclosed rooms. Blake didn't mind sleeping on the couch on the second floor, but sometimes she wondered where the actual beds were in the place that Roman and Neo sleep in.

_Do they sleep together?_

One thing that bothered Blake was that, despite living with the two for a week, she knew practically nothing about them. Roman was a master of deflecting, so any attempt to steer a conversation towards his or Neo's past was brushed off. The exact relationship between the two was unclear; they didn't seem to be lovers to Blake, but they spent a lot of time together alone, making a point to keep Blake away from them at times.

"We gotta pick up the pace, Blake" Roman called out, "We've got a meeting here in an hour".

* * *

Considering he chastised Blake for her lack of stealth and preparedness, Torchwick didn't have the best plan of attack, at least, not from what he told Blake. According to him, Blake was to remain hidden up on some rafters and only reveal herself 'if things went south'.

_For a man who never shuts up he really seemed to skimp on some key details._

Blake could understand Roman wanting to keep her away from the action if possible; she didn't exactly have the best track record. What did worry Blake was how Torchwick thought that himself and Neo could take care of this eminent murderous threat by themselves. This entire event seemed like a recipe for disaster, but Blake wasn't one to ask unwarranted questions, especially to a man who looked like he had a lot on his mind. Her boss had looked lost in thought frequently over the last week, whenever he was around.

Leaning against a truss above the main room, Blake watched Roman and Neo mill about until a door at the warehouse entrance opened. In walked a lone woman with long black hair and a red dress.

_Oh no._

It was the same woman who had chased Blake down an alley a week earlier. Unable to do anything but watch, Blake got a little more nervous knowing that this person would probably recognize her. Blake recomposed herself. She was here to try and get this criminal off the streets, but she was prepared to make a getaway if she had too; she wasn't risking her life for this.

"I see you've done everything I have asked of you, Roman." The mystery lady proclaimed as she strutted through the warehouse, gazing upon the aisles of boxes that Blake hadn't looked into as much as she should have at this point.

"I'm a man of my word, Cinder." Torchwick replied, giving Cinder a smirk and a wink, something that seemed to visibly upset Neo, who was standing next to him.

"So, I take it I'm only here to watch you bend the knee and accept my offer?"

"Well… not exactly." Torchwick responded, a hint of worry in his voice.

Cinder's right eye suddenly started to glow with an intense flame. Blake watched in horror as it seemed that the eye was _actually_ engulfed in a raging fire.

_What the hell?! Is this a Semblance?_

"I thought I made it _very_ clear what the consequence was for anything other than compliance." Cinder had an intimidating tone to her voice now.

"It's just…" Roman said tensely, "I get it. I know where you're coming from with the whole 'destroy Beacon and stick it to The Man' shtick, but I run a small operation and I'm not sure if I'm 'management material', you know?"

_Destroy Beacon? What are they talking about?_

"Roman, you're being too hard on yourself." Cinder said slyly, "You'd make a great leader. You got great recommendations from past employees, although I must confess some of them might've been under duress."

Cinder had a commanding presence to match her smirk of confidence, and Blake was starting to get goosebumps. This fiery woman looked like she could kill everyone here effortlessly.

_What is your plan, Torchwick?_

"I noticed your little murder tour. I've been to more funerals this past week than I've had hot meals."

"Then you know that I don't take 'no' for an answer." Cinder declared, closing the gap between herself and Torchwick. "You weren't my first choice for this position as Head of Vale Operations, but I can assure you that many would call it a position to die for. How many of your old drinking buddies must I put in the ground before you realize that you don't have a choice. You and I both know that you would sell yourself out well before you put your life on the line."

Torchwick, who would normally quip back at someone instantly, took an uncharacteristically long pause.

"You know I would've agreed with you on that just last week, but I've had a change of heart. I know you're not one to compromise, but I have a proposition for you;" Roman lifted his cane off the ground and pointed it at Cinder before continuing, "Leave us alone or else we'll let the world know of your little plan."

_This has got to be the worst plan I've ever seen_

Torchwick's ultimatum didn't sit well with Cinder.

"Oh Roman, so naïve." Cinder dismissed playfully as she conjured a blade into her hand out of thin air.

_Conjuring weapons __**and **__fiery eyes?_

Blake was hesitant to jump down and try to fight her way out of this. She hadn't exactly been winning any fights recently, and Cinder looked tougher than Adam. Blake started scanning the rafters for potential ways out of the building without being noticed, when her Scroll vibrated. Thinking it was a bad time to be checking it, Blake would've ignored it were it not for her glancing down and seeing Torchwick holding his own Scroll behind his back. Assuming it was a message from him, she pulled out her Scroll. Sure enough, there was a message from Torchwick:

'Police on their way, sneak out while you still can.'

This surprised Blake more than Cinder's seemingly boundless power. Torchwick was getting the police involved _and _letting her leave?

_What happened to the plan to fight her? Did he actually have a change of heart?_

Nothing seemed to make sense to Blake anymore, but one thing was for certain; Torchwick was in way over his head. Blake knew that Torchwick didn't have a Semblance, and that he wasn't the most skilled fighter, often deferring to Neo's sparring prowess, and facing Cinder in a fight like this meant certain death. It was painfully clear to Blake that leaving the two behind meant leaving them to die in a hopeless fight, and as much as Blake didn't want to admit it to herself, she cared too much about the two of them to let them die like this. She wanted them to go to jail and be punished for their crimes, not brutally murdered for not agreeing to join a plot to attack an Academy. They had fed her, sheltered her, and gave her a purpose when she thought her life was collapsing before her eyes, at the very least she owed them this.

_Why do I always have to get myself caught up in these things?_

It was a split-second decision, but Blake made the choice to stand by the only people she had left in her life. Jumping down from the rafters and landing on the cold hard warehouse floor, Blake unsheathed Gambol Shroud and took a combat stance beside Torchwick.

"And here I thought you were looking for an excuse to leave." Torchwick laughed, not taking his eyes off of Cinder.

"You're not the only one who's full of surprises today." Blake replied, still trying to justify her own actions in her head.

_If Roman's willing to fight Cinder, then there's no reason I shouldn't!_

"Oh, I remember you." Cinder said, as if taking a mental note aloud, "It's not often a stranger sees me at my day job and lives to tell about it. Looks like I'll be killing two birds with one stone today."

It seemed like it should've been easy: Blake, Torchwick, and Neo against Cinder. Not many fighters could claim they've won a three on one before, but Cinder showed no sign of fear on her face as she raised her left arm and a ball of fire shot out at the three of them. Roman grabbed his hat and ducked away, but Blake didn't have as fast of a reaction time, and instead tried to brace herself for the impact. Lucky for her Neo threw herself in harm's way and blocked the fireball completely with her parasol, making sure to turn her head towards Blake and give her a wink.

"Just how strong is that thing." Blake accidentally whispered instead of thought, to which Neo responded with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

But now wasn't the time for banter. Neo quickly spun around and hopped away, and from behind her parasol Blake saw Cinder lunging with her sword in hand. This time Blake wasn't going to let her guard down, and immediately used a shadow clone to jump to Cinder's right. Cinder quickly put her sword into the shadow clone and Blake capitalized on the moment by swinging her weapon at the attacker. Much to Blake's surprise, Cinder's reaction time was quite fast, and she got her hand up to block the strike. Suddenly it felt like Cinder's hand exploded and Blake was blasted backwards from her.

Flying through the air but landing on her feet, Blake felt the heat radiating from Gambol Shroud. Cinder had a powerful Semblance, whatever it was, and if Blake wasn't careful then more than her weapon would be scorching hot.

Torchwick raised his cane once again and shot an explosive Dust projectile at Cinder, who again seemed to block the attack with an intense flame projected from her hand.

_If we make her use her Semblance enough, it should drain her Aura!_

Blake changed Gambol Shroud into its pistol form and proceeded to shoot Dust at Cinder along with Torchwick, and with them on opposing sides of her, there shouldn't have been a way for her to counter both of them simultaneously.

To stack the odds against Cinder even more in that moment, Neo jumped back into the fray, her parasol closed and being brought down towards Cinder's head, only to shatter on Cinder's blade as the real Neo charged from beside Roman.

Cinder didn't struggle to keep up however, and used one hand to block Blake's shots, and used her other to bring a sword up to meet Neo, blocking her strike, all while moving her head out of the way of Torchwick's Dust shot.

It seemed almost like a ballet to Cinder, who effortlessly blocked shots and dodged attacks as if the world around her was moving in slow motion. She grabbed Neo's parasol with her free hand and then pulled it towards her. Neo, still gripping her weapon, was pulled right into Cinder's other hand, which had dropped her weapon and now contained a flame, which she blasted into Neo's stomach from point blank, sending her flipping through the air backwards past Torchwick.

"Neo!" Torchwick cried out, turning around to make sure Neo was ok, before he took an explosive fireball to the shoulder himself, flooring him.

Blake, now with Cinder's full attention, put Gambol shroud back into dagger form and slowly approached Cinder.

"What's the matter?" Cinder said playfully, "Never seen power like this before?"

Opting not to reply to Cinder's rhetorical question, Blake sent a shadow clone of herself towards her, but before she could plan her strike, a giant wall of flame came careening towards her, destroying her Shadow and forcing her to jump backwards. After performing an elegant backflip in the air, she landed on her feet once again, only for Cinder to charge at her with another sword in her hand.

Blocking Cinder's sword, Blake finally got a close look at the weapon Cinder used to fight. It was translucent and hard, but Blake could tell it was light weight, almost as if it were made of glass. Knowing a fire attack was imminent, Blake immediately put a shadow clone in her place and flipped over Cinder, putting Gambol Shroud back into pistol form and grabbing the ribbon. Her shadow was blasted again, but this time she was ready to attack again, swinging gambol Shroud from the ribbon and utilizing the momentum to swing it at Cinder from multiple angles quickly. Cinder blocked most of the quick successive strikes, but Blake could tell upon landing that she had landed a hit or two on her.

Then Blake's cat ears picked up a sound behind her. She could tell it was Roman, and she knew exactly what he was about to do based solely on the sound. Putting another shadow clone in her place, Blake threw herself out of the way of an incoming Dust explosion that hit an unexpecting Cinder still recoiling from Blake's strike. Jumping backwards, Blake landed next to Torchwick, who was standing next to Neo.

"You've got good intuition, kid." Torchwick said with some annoyance in his voice that seemed directed at Cinder, as his eyes remained on her, "Now let's kick her ass."

Roman started strutting towards Cinder, while Blake and Neo sprinted at her, crossing each other as they approached the villain. Weapons at the ready, Blake went high and Neo went low. Blake took both parts of Gambol Shroud and swung them in a crossing formation so Cinder couldn't block her. Meanwhile, Neo stuck her parasol between Cinder's legs and opened it, propelling her upwards. Cinder blocked Blake's strike, but got tossed upwards by Neo, only to get blasted in the air by Torchwick.

Cinder started to fall back towards the ground, arm ablaze, aiming directly at Blake and Neo who were below her. When she struck the ground, she punched it, which created an explosion that shattered Neo's illusion and destroyed Blake's shadow clone, revealing the two were actually on either side of her.

Seeming to have had enough of being hit, Cinder immediately launched herself at Roman, tackling him and throwing the two of them out of the way of Blake and Neo. The two recovered and started swinging violently at each other. Torchwick seemed to be able to keep up with Cinder with his cane, but after a short few seconds Cinder grabbed Torchwick's weapon and pulled it away from him, digging her high heel into his chest and kicking him backwards again, ripping the cane from his arms. While Torchwick was flying through the air, Cinder shot a ball of fire at him, hitting him mid flight as if she was skeet shooting, breaking his Aura.

Neo and Blake sprinted towards Torchwick, who was lying on his back defeated, but Cinder was much faster, quickly getting to and standing over him, sword in hand. Seeing Cinder point her sword at Torchwick's throat made Blake stop in her tracks, but Neo kept running towards her.

Cinder looked Neo dead in the eyes and calmly said, "It's a shame your love for him isn't an illusion," before driving her sword straight down into Torchwick's chest. The man let out a large gasp for air as blood spewed out of his chest cavity like a fountain, eyes wide open from shock.

The sound of metal carving through flesh sent a shiver down Blake's spine. The fact that Cinder had no remorse in her eyes as she stabbed another human being brought back bad memories of Adam. Blake felt helpless, her mind racing too much for her to be able to figure out what to do next. She took responsibility for letting this happen; she had failed her boss. She stood paralyzed from fear, watching Neo try to do what Blake couldn't.

_All that time spent thinking and meditating and figuring out how I would move forward and correct my mistakes, and this is what I have to show for it?_

Neo threw herself at Cinder, fighting desperately to push her as far away from Torchwick as possible. Cinder obliged, jumping backwards and going toe to toe with the mute, leaving Blake and Torchwick alone. Blake, finally coming to her senses, rushed to the criminal's aid. He was still breathing and conscious, but he was in distress.

"Roman!" Blake cried out as she finally got to him, kneeling beside him, "are you okay?"

"Remember that talk we had? About giving up the life of crime?" Torchwick responded, ignoring Blake's question.

"What does that have to do with thi-"

"Did you really think I could walk away so easily?" He continued, beckoning Blake to come closer, "Go help Neo. I made this choice so that she could be saved from this mess."

"No, we're getting you out of here." Blake affirmed. She started to get up and turn towards Cinder, but she turned back and added, "and I didn't mean you should stop being a _criminal_, I meant that you could do a lot of good in this world if your heart was in the right place."

Blake gave Roman a weak smile as her eyes got a bit damp.

_I can't let him die; he can do so much good if he just gets the chance._

Unfortunately for her, the only thing she could do was fight Cinder, who seemed to be entertaining Neo to a fight more so than actually trying to beat her, feigning disinterest while she effortlessly blocked all of Neo's strikes in a battle of life and death. The two stood with weapons clashed, Neo pushing as hard as she could on her parasol while Cinder only pushed back with one hand.

Blake threw Gambol Shroud up at the rafters while holding the ribbon, using the weapon as a sling shot to fire herself into the fray. While she lined up an aerial strike onto Cinder perfectly, just as she was about to land, Cinder, without even looking in Blake's direction, conjured up another sword into her off hand and blocked the attack. Their weapons clashed but despite Blake's advantage of leverage, gravity, and two arms on her weapon instead of one, Cinder was able to throw Blake off of her. Falling onto her back a few dozen feet away, Blake looked back at Cinder to see her kick Neo in the chest, her Aura flickering as she was also knocked back away from their attacker.

Cinder then took her two swords and brought them together, which created a bow out of them. Conjuring an arrow, she pulled the string back and aimed at Blake. Still on her back, Blake tried desperately to throw herself out of the arrow's path, knowing her Aura was getting low and that this attack may be the last that she could endure. Now on her forearms, she looked back at the archer, only to see Neo run at her from behind. The girl was holding her parasol upside-down and swung the hook part of her weapon in between Cinder's bow's limb and its string. Pulling down hard, the bow was suddenly facing straight down, with the arrow being launched into the concrete at Cinder's feet. For the first time, Blake saw Cinder had a surprised expression on her face, as the arrow lit the ground beneath her before immediately exploding, sending her and Neo in opposing directions.

Blake immediately made her way over to the girl, who was sprawled out next to one of the warehouse shelves, which were in surprisingly good condition considering the fight going on around them. Neo, however, was not fairing as well. Blake went to help her up, but Neo shoved her away violently, holding a hand up to her and looking away as if she didn't want to be seen.

Just as Neo's Aura began to break, something strange happened. Her outfit started to change, and now instead of the fashionable garments she had been wearing this whole time, she was wearing much simpler clothes. Now she was dressed in a plain white and green dress that was torn and tattered; something that a farm girl would wear. Her hair, once a mix of pink and brown with a hint of white, was now just brown and unkempt. She looked up at Blake softly, revealing her eyes to be the same colour as Torchwick's; green. Even her weapon's appearance changed, with the canopy actually being solid metal.

_I knew that thing felt heavier than it should have!_

With her once immaculate appearance ruined, Neo seemed a lot less confident. She could've gotten up, but instead she stayed on the ground, looking down, tears falling from her eyes. Seeing her sitting in a slump on the ground made Blake sad, as it reminded her of herself when she was deciding to leave the White Fang. Kneeling down beside the devastated girl, Blake put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm not leaving you. We can beat her." Blake whispered warmly into Neo's ear.

Neo turned to Blake and hugged her, burying her face into Blake's shoulder. The Faunus could feel her clothes dampen from Neo's tears, but she knew she had something more important to worry about. Turning her head, she saw that Cinder had recovered and was slowly approaching them, holding another ball of fire in her hand.

"Now, which one of you wants to die first?" She asked, smiling.

The two sat together in their embrace, seemingly accepting their fate. Neo didn't even acknowledge Cinder as she sat waiting to die. Blake had other plans though, sending a shadow clone at Cinder while she quickly put Neo into a pack-strap carry position and picked her up, carrying her towards the warehouse shelves. Giving their stark height difference, carrying Neo was easy for Blake and it felt more like she was giving her a piggyback ride than getting her to safety. Just as she turned the corner of the warehouse aisle, Cinder incinerated the illusion. Blake knew she couldn't use her Semblance much more before her Aura ran out, but she couldn't seem to find a place to hide from the fiery villain. All of the shelves were packed quite efficiently, and there were no gaps large enough to squeeze into in an evasion attempt, and even if they could, Torchwick was still lying in the open, periodically coughing as if to let Blake know he was still alive.

Just when she thought there was no hope for any of them to leave alive, a voice boomed throughout the warehouse.

"Everybody freeze! This is the VPD, we have the building surrounded!" the authoritative voice called out from somewhere out of sight.

_Shit! He actually called the cops?!_

There wasn't much Blake could do at this point, being the only one who could fight. Knowing she'd never see Torchwick again if the police got to him before her, she raced over to where he was lying, Neo still on her back. Seeing Roman seemed to give Neo her strength back, as she pushed off of Blake and ran alongside her.

Paranoid that she was about to get incinerated by Cinder from the shadows, Blake repeatedly checked over her shoulder, but couldn't find the woman. The two got to Torchwick, only to hear the sound of a large metal door being opened at the front of the warehouse. The police were coming in.

Neo frantically pointed at Torchwick's torso, prompting Blake to stand above him. The little lady then beckoned Blake to follow her before grabbing her partner's legs and lifting. The two started to two-person carry the crook, who seemed to be only partly aware of what was going on, murmuring to himself about 'never being taken alive'. With Neo in front steering the trio, they made their way towards the back of the warehouse, Cinder still nowhere to be found.

Blake was led into a side room where Neo put Torchwick down and began moving an inconspicuous bookshelf off the wall. Behind it was a staircase the led downwards, which confused Blake as the floor was concrete and she was sure there was no basement. Nonetheless they pressed onwards down the stairs, closing the entranceway behind them.

The soreness from the fight was starting to set in, and Blake wondered how long she could carry Torchwick before she collapsed herself. She tried not to think about the pain, which helped tremendously as she had a lot to think about in wake of everything that had just happened.

_Just last week I wanted to see Roman brought to justice, but here I am helping him evade the authorities, and I didn't even think twice! What is wrong with me?_

Blake couldn't stop wondering why she was getting herself all wrapped up in this in the first place. She could have left these people behind many times at this point, but instead she helped this dynamic duo despite them being criminals. But it felt weird to Blake to call these people she had allied with 'criminals' because the more she got to know them, the more she understood that the two were more so victims of circumstance. In a world that was so cold and indifferent to them, they only had each other, and they couldn't be good people even if they wanted to. Roman had just tried to remove himself from a plot to potentially cripple humanity and was stabbed for it. Neo, while not one to back away from violence, certainly wasn't going out looking for it, opting to read books and train on her own in her free time. The two together were the definition of a power couple, spending their days taking back what they felt the world owed them, but now all three of them appeared to be in way over their heads.

_This world has created all sorts of reluctant monsters and villains, can people like Torchwick, Neo, and me really make Remnant a better place?_

Blake thought she would be becoming a Huntress and working alongside noble warriors to do good, but here she was, saving a criminal from being justly apprehended. Part of her knew she was helping because she saw the good parts of herself in these two. They were misguided like she was, but they knew right from wrong, something that Adam had lost sight of. The Faunus had a realization that she was trying to redeem Neo and Torchwick because it would prove to herself that _she _could be redeemed.

_Even if I'm still a criminal, if there's a plot to destroy Beacon, I have to stop it! Whatever the cost…_

With a newfound second wind, Blake pressed on further down the stairs, which lead to a door. Behind the door was a familiar sight and smell; the sewers. The last time Blake was down here was when Torchwick was assisting her jailbreak, yet somehow the stakes seemed to be even higher now. Torchwick's wound was quite large, and only barely being held closed by his jacket, which the maimed man must turned into a makeshift bandage while he was writhing on the ground earlier. Even if he wasn't bleeding profusely at the moment, Blake and Neo had to be careful he didn't get an infection that his Aura wouldn't be able to heal.

Neo's Aura had seemed to start coming back, as her hair started to regain its pink sheen.

_Even with her Aura so low, she still uses her Semblance to change her appearance. Why?_

With Neo leading the way, Blake didn't have much of a choice but to stare at her. For someone so short, she was setting a quick pace, and Blake almost stumbled a few times. She didn't want to ask Neo to slow down or say anything to her for that matter. She walked with determination and Blake was confident that she didn't want anyone talking to her right now. It also seemed rude to force her into a one-sided conversation, so Blake walked in silence.

There were a lot of questions that Blake had, though. She was curious about where they were going, what Cinder's plot was, and what Neo's plan was, but it's not like she could answer Blake's questions anyways.

* * *

After about a half hour of walking, Blake was starting to get gravely concerned. It seemed hard to believe that Torchwick was still alive at this point, let alone able to be saved. The stench coming from the raw sewage wasn't helping Blake's queasy feeling either, as she tried hard to breathe through her mouth to avoid it. Just when Blake thought this predicament was going to become unbearable, though, Neo stopped in front of a metal door on the wall. Neo started kicking the door profusely with her heels, which had materialized along with the rest of her usual outfit. Refusing to set Torchwick down, Neo hammered away at the door, which had a viewing slit that made the whole setup seem quite nefarious. After about eight frustrated kicks, the slit slid open, revealing a pair of eyes that Blake felt like she'd seen before. The eyes looked through the slit, but the person didn't appear to be able to see Neo due to her stature. Visibly livid, Neo hopped up and down to finally get the attention of the person behind the door.

"Oh, it's you!" The person said with concern.

After a few seconds of rattling locks loose, the door opened and standing inside was none other than Uma. Her armour didn't glisten as much in the dark sewers, but she still looked as strong and intimidating as ever. She looked a bit frazzled, her hair was disheveled her breathing sounded a bit strained, as if she had been running recently. Getting a better look at Uma from the side, Blake noticed Blake noticed one of Uma's tattoos was of a Goliath Grimm.

_I wonder if she's killed one._

Ignoring Blake's blatant gawking, Uma looked over at Torchwick and her eyes went wide.

"She came for you too?" she asked Neo rhetorically.

"What's going on here?" Blake interjected. There were a lot of things Blake didn't know about the situation, and she felt it was about time she got some answers.

"Don't worry, I can help you and your friends." Uma replied as she beckoned them in, putting a hand on Blake's shoulder.

Blake wanted to say '_They're not my friends'_ but found herself biting her tongue and moving Torchwick out of the sewers. She didn't have time to think about the semantics of being friends with Roman and Neo, a man's life was on the line.

They brought Torchwick up a flight of stairs and into a dim lit back room. In there was a table which Uma cleared off instantly by throwing everything onto the floor. Torchwick was still breathing as he was set down on the makeshift operating table, but the man was unconscious. Neo held his face in her hands and gave him a somber look. She was clearly stricken with grief, but there was still time to save him if they acted fast. Uma instructed Blake to expose the wound and left the room. Opening Torchwick's jacket, Blake was finally able to see the damage done to the man. Blake had seen some pretty nasty injuries over the years, and this one wasn't actually that bad. Upon inspection, it seemed that part of the cut had been cauterized by Cinder's sword, which must've still been quite hot.

_That explains why he hasn't died from blood loss yet._

Blake didn't hear Roman's flesh searing at the time, but they'd need any act of good fortune they could get if they were going to save the man that had saved Blake just over a week ago.

Uma quickly returned to the room with arms full of various bottles that contained medicinal substances. Behind her followed a cart full of medical equipment. Blake couldn't identify half of the things that Uma was carrying, despite having to be patched up a few times after some bad fights.

_For an intimidating crime boss, Uma sure seems to know a lot about medicine._

What surprised Blake the most, however, was the cart that seemed to follow the woman. It was a plain cart that didn't look like it had any Dust integrated into it in any way, yet it moved with purpose.

Blake could no longer afford the luxury of pondering her environment however, as Uma took charge of the situation.

"Get over here you two," Uma called out, "we're doing this quick and dirty."


	4. Commitment

Blake's hands felt warm as they were engulfed in a pool of blood. She was applying pressure to Torchwick's wound, which was the only thing she felt that she could do to help. Neo was cleaning the affected area, which was mainly a large laceration down the man's chest. Uma had been working tirelessly to subdue him and get him stitched back together. The process was long and tiresome, but if they could stabilize him his Aura would be able to take care of the rest.

_At least Torchwick's been quiet for more than a few minutes. That's a first._

"Hey Blake." Uma asked without looking up from the patient.

"What is it?" She responded.

"Neo and I should be able to get the wound patched up, but I'm going to need a few things to keep it from reopening before his Aura can kick in. There's a list of things on my desk along with some Lien, could you go to the drug store and get them?"

"Yeah sure." Blake replied hesitantly, not really knowing how to get outside, let alone where the nearest drug store was.

Blake was going to ask Uma for directions, but Uma looked quite focused on the task in front of her, so Blake decided that she could probably figure this one out on her own.

_I mean it's just a quick run to the store, how hard could it be?_

Removing her plastic gloves, Blake found the list and Lien and made her way out towards the only door in the room she hadn't used. Assuming it was the way to the surface, Blake opened it and found a staircase at the end of a long hall. Not wanting to snoop around, the girl hastily made her way up the stairs and found a door that looked like it led to the exterior of the building she was in. opening the metal door, Blake was now in an alley.

Blake was in a more bustling part of Vale than she was when Roman had tasked her with delivering that package to Uma, and she actually recognized where she was; The nearest drug store would only be a couple of minutes away.

As she walked to the store, Blake again had time to reflect about the situation she was in. It seemed like she was finally getting her wish as there were evil forces that needed to be stopped. Blake knew she had to stop Beacon from getting destroyed, but the question on her mind was who she should tell about this? Cinder already knew about herself, Torchwick and Neo, and would probably do whatever it takes to silence them.

_I wish I could tell the police, but they'd probably just arrest me and not believe a word I said. Who else can I trust in Vale?_

There was no sense in telling anyone from the White Fang about the plot; they'd be indifferent to it. Blake needed someone respected who would listen to her and help fight back. The one place Blake turned to was Beacon Academy. Surely there must be someone there who could help her? After all, she was still trying to get in, if only she could get the police to allow her to attend. Telling someone else about Cinder was a top priority for Blake, but first she had to save Torchwick. The man seemed on board to take down Cinder and that's all Blake needed to finally justify helping him. Hopeful of the opportunity to prove herself as a righteous person, yet fearful of the inevitable fight to come, Blake pressed on through the commercial district of Vale. It was a nice, quiet night in Vale, so the Faunus let herself enjoy the walk for once instead of being paranoid.

Finding everything on the list proved easy for Blake, as she walked out of the store with her backpack filled to the brim with whatever Uma had requested. Blake had no idea how the woman was going to use everything, as many of the items were random chemicals that Blake had never seen before. She decided to take the rooftops back to the hideout as opposed to walking on the street as she did to get her to the store; She had a feeling something wasn't right. Blake's suspicious feeling refused to go away, and she figured she couldn't be too safe as she jumped onto the rooftops once again. From this vantage point she should be able to see anyone following her.

As the Faunus approached the hideout, a rustling sound made her cat ears twitch. Her ears allowed her to identify and categorize sounds much more meticulously than the average person, leading her to the realization that she had heard this sound before. Much like when a person living in a house with others may learn to identify who's walking through adjacent rooms and hallways solely based on the sound of their housemates' footsteps, Blake could usually tell who was walking near her after hearing their ambient noises or footsteps only once or twice. This sound was near identical to the sound she heard just before she was ambushed on the day of her entrance exam.

_The person who attacked me!_

Blake had to act fast as this person obviously had ill intentions for her. Rather than reach for Gambol Shroud and let her assailant know that she knew about them, Blake pivoted on her toes and turned around without warning. Stood before her on the ledge of the building she was on was a hooded figure. The person was completely cloaked in black robes, with shadows covering their face, despite Blake's best efforts to see through it with her night vision.

Suddenly Blake felt her breathing become irregular. She was gasping for air, her legs started to shake, and her arms froze as she was moving them to grab her weapon.

_Am I having a panic attack?! At a time like this?!_

The entire situation felt off. It wasn't like Blake to become so fear stricken at such an imperative moment. Still looking at the cloaked figure, Blake could make out a faint blue glow coming from under the robes, as if some energy was being emitted.

"Is that a… Semblance?" Blake asked weakly.

The statement itself seemed to cause the figure to spring forward at Blake and double front kick her in the chest, sending Blake backwards. Still too tense to devise a recovery to the hit, Blake flew over the ledge of the building and hit her back against the brick wall of the adjacent one. With a loud cracking sound, she stopped sailing through the air and proceeded to fall between the gap between the two buildings. Finally coming to her senses, she wielded Gambol Shroud and dug the blade into the wall to slow her fall.

Now in an alleyway, the Faunus removed her backpack, checking the contents of it for any broken items that would have caused the cracking sound when she slammed into the wall. Her query was almost immediately answered as she pulled out the item in her bag that mattered most, the signal jammer. The device's casing had been shattered and there were wires sticking out of it from a multitude of angles.

_That's not good._

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, at that moment a light on her ankle bracelet started to flash, as well as a sound that started to emit from the device. It seemed as though her location was being broadcasted unhindered to the police, and Blake had barely finished stuffing everything back into her backpack before she heard the sound of sirens coming from the street at the end of the alley. Blake looked upwards, expecting to see the hooded figure watching her, but no one was there.

"VPD, put your hands in the air!" A man exclaimed from the end of the alley, a flashlight now shining on Blake.

_It must be so frustrating to be a police officer; always having to give the criminals a head start._

Blake threw the pistol of Gambol Shroud down the opposing end of the alley whilst gripping the ribbon. Using the ribbon to shoot the pistol, Blake manoeuvred her weapon so that it wrapped itself around a supporting beam for a fire escape of a building at the alley intersection, and with a strong tug, Blake flung herself away from the officer and around the corner of the alleyway, leaving the man speechless at the speed at which the criminal had removed herself from his sights.

With shouting and footsteps coming from far away, Blake sprinted down the empty alley, planning her next move. She knew that any escape was only temporary now that the police had her location, and it seemed that they were committed to capturing her as quickly as possible. The Faunus needed time to think, but she'd have to multitask as she heard sirens coming from the street at the end of the alley she was running towards.

Not wanting to have to deal with the immense amount of police vehicles that seemed to be encapsulating her, Blake again used Gambol Shroud to propel herself upwards, and back onto the rooftops. She didn't have much of a plan other than to outrun the police, and she searched for a good path across the rooftop just as frantically as she searched her mind for a solution to her predicament. The best way for Blake to avoid getting backed into a corner was for her to keep moving, so she leapt from building to building as she travelled away from Uma's hideout; She would have to lose the cops before she could go back. Remembering Uma and the critical situation she was in, Blake pulled out her Scroll and sent a message to Neo:

'_Signal jammer broke. On the run from VPD. Need help!'_

Blake thought about using some kind of code to text Neo in case her Scroll was being tracked, but she was strapped for time and she wasn't exactly giving the police any new information anyways, so she hit 'send' without a second thought. She would quickly come to appreciate her lack of hesitation as a Bullhead shone a spotlight on her seconds later as the large aerial vehicle entered the area. The Bullhead caused strong gusts of wind to hit Blake's face, and the crisp air of the cool night became all the more abrasive against her skin. That, combined with the blinding spotlight on her, made it difficult for the Faunus to see properly.

Deciding to take a leap of faith, Blake jumped off the building and slid down the side of it and onto the sidewalk of a side street. The angle the Bullhead made with the building meant that the spotlight was off of her for a brief second, allowing Blake the opportunity to plan out her path. Taking off into a sprint, she made it only a few steps before the light was back on her, and a shot of Dust careened past her onto the sidewalk to her right.

_There's a sniper in the Bullhead!_

Standing still was no longer an option. Blake knew that her Aura still hadn't fully recovered from her fight with Cinder less than a few hours ago, so she had to be careful and not get into any unnecessary confrontations. Blake rounded the corner into the nearest alley, knowing the Bullhead and sniper would have trouble getting to her in between the buildings. The VPD, however, seemed to be one step ahead, and had a blockade setup in the back alley, with two armed guards and a police van blocking the way. There was no way Blake was turning around though, so she sent a shadow clone of herself down the alley while she threw Gambol Shroud like a top rope anchor, having it catch on another fire escape just behind the van. Using the ribbon to pull and balance herself, Blake ran along the brick wall of the alley far above where her clone was running.

Much to the Faunus' surprise, the police officers immediately opened fire on her clone and destroyed it without a moment's hesitation. Knowing she only had a fraction of a second left before they saw her, Blake mustered an immense amount of strength from her muscles and both pulled herself with her arms and kicked off the wall with her legs, catapulting her at an incredible speed over top of the blockade, just as they had seen her. Blake, now safely on the other side of the van, used it against the police as they now had to shuffle past it to get a line of sight on her again.

Just then it dawned on Blake how she could get away. She needed to get underground. The signal that they were using to track her was a radio signal that was sent and received by the CCTS. This signal attenuates as it attempts to propagate through materials such as concrete and metal, making communication between above ground towers and underground devices nearly impossible without dedicated underground signal boosters, which Vale's sewer system didn't have. If Blake could get underground, her ankle bracelet would lose reception to the network the VPD was using, and they'd be unable to track her. She also wouldn't be able to use her Scroll, but it was the only sure-fire way to get out of the watchful eye of the law.

Despite this new plan, Blake still had to find a way to get underground, and the only entrance she knew of in the area was via one of the many manholes in the streets.

_I'm going to have to do this quickly._

Running full tilt down the alley, Blake could feel the walls closing in around her. Having to run out into the middle of the street was hard enough, but she'd have to remove a manhole cover and slide into the hole all in one motion if she was going to have a chance at getting away unscathed. Blake knew this was her best option, and that she would likely only get one shot at it. Her legs were getting tired, meaning she wouldn't be able to outrun the police for too much longer. Not wanting to risk it all on a huge gamble, Blake wanted to run from the alley on one side of the street to other, to scope out the street and plan the path she would take for a moment before the sniper caught up to her. She continued running straight, anticipating the intersection the alley made with the road up ahead. With any luck, she'd quickly spot a manhole cover that she could try to pry open before getting blasted away by the VPD. Breaking through the gap between the buildings and onto the city street, Blake quickly panned around and spotted a suitable target. Less than a block down the road was a manhole cover that Blake could use to escape! The only problem was that directly above it hovered the Bullhead with sniper still in tow. It seemed that she wouldn't be able to go with her original plan, as the sniper fired his first shot at Blake, just barely missing her head and creating a small crater in the street next to her. It appeared that the sniper had explosive Dust ammunition.

The explosive ammunition gave Blake an idea, and she pivoted and ran straight towards the Bullhead. She'd have to time her Semblance perfectly, but if she pulled this off, she'd surely escape the authorities. Blake sent out her shadow clone ahead of her and dropped into a slide. The sniper, whom Blake knew was aiming for her head, took his second shot. The shot itself was a testament to the gunman's abilities, as the Bullhead was moving backwards as Blake moved toward it. It was also a shot taken at a sharp angle, heading almost straight into the ground. The gunman was fooled, however, and the shot went through the skull of the shadow clone and, due to Blake's impeccable timing, flew straight through one of the holes on the manhole cover. The Dust immediately exploded as it hit the ladder underneath the ground that the cover was protecting. With a loud '_Boom' _sound, the manhole cover exploded out of the ground and through the air, just in time for Blake to slide into the newly created hole in the ground.

The walls were grimy, and the air was moist with a horrid stench as Blake slid down the wall and into the tunnel beneath the streets. As successful as her plan was, it seemed Blake wasn't off the hook yet, as there were the sounds of footsteps echoing throughout the sewers.

_They were ready for me!_

The device on her ankle was still making noise and flashing, even though Blake assumed the signal wouldn't be able to be tracked at this point, so stealth wasn't exactly an option. Rounding the corner ready to knock out some police officers, Blake was surprised to see she had already been beaten to the punch, as there were two bodies leaned up against the sewer wall. Thankful that she didn't have to risk fighting with her dangerously low Aura levels, the Faunus took a small step backwards as she attempted to double back and go the other way, only for the back of her neck to touch steel. Someone was pointing a gun at her point blank and by the looks of things it was likely the same person who dispatched the law enforcement so easily.

Fighting was impossible at this point. One shot would break Blake's Aura and even if she used her Semblance, she'd have to risk getting shot point blank in the head; surrendering was the safest option at this point. Putting her hands up and dropping Gambol Shroud, Blake prepared for the worst. The silence was deafening, and the Faunus was half expecting to get executed right there. Her mind was racing. She knew this day would come, but a part of her had always thought she was destined to bring about a positive change in Remnant. All the mistakes she had made in her life flashed before her, and tears started to form in Blake's eyes. Her throat contracted spasmodically as she sobbed in what she believed to be her final moments.

Suddenly the gun made a ting sound as it was thrown to the ground, discarded. Blake glanced to her left to see Neo circle around her with a mischievous face that turned baffled when she saw how distraught the Faunus was.

"I thought you were about to kill me!" Blake said defensively, still shaken by the experience.

_It's not like there's anyone I know who would get more joy out of killing me than Neo._

Neo rolled her multicoloured eyes and crouched down to pick up Gambol Shroud, returning it to Blake's shaking hands. Her hand lingered on Blake's, and in an instant, she gripped the Faunus' hand tightly and led her through the labyrinth that was Vale's sewer system.

The lack of police pursuing her confirmed Blake's theory that she could move freely throughout the sewers without worry. It felt good to finally have a plan that actually panned out in her favour for once. The only problem with this was that she would have to go above ground at some point, and as Blake and Neo approached their destination, the Faunus grew more and more worrisome.

_I just can't think of a way to get this ankle bracelet off of me before I get hunted down!_

Arriving at the site of Uma's operation, Neo walked through the entrance without a second thought, but Blake stopped at the door. She knew that there was a possibility that her tracker would reactivate the second she walked into the building, and she couldn't risk leading the police straight to the four of them. Her moment of hesitation left her in an awkward situation though as Neo was gone from her sight by the time the Faunus called out to her.

Being alone caused panic to overcome Blake.

_How long do I wait here? What if the police find me down here? Will I have to live in the sewers until I can get this off of me? Is there another signal jammer around that I can use? Can the broken one in my bag be fixed?_

These questions gnawed at Blake's sanity, causing her to pace up and down the walkway. A five-minute eternity later, a man walked out of the door and approached Blake. She recognized him immediately from the coveralls; it was the man from the electronics store!

"Let's see that ankle of yours." He said, setting down a toolbox on the ground and taking a knee in front of Blake.

"Hold on," she responded, her nervousness holding out against a sudden wave of relief, "don't I owe you a lot of Lien for this?"

"Your friend seems to be covering for you." The man declared, still having yet to look Blake in the eye. The man took a screwdriver and a soldering iron out of his toolbox and started prodding at the bracelet, having already zoned out of any potential conversation Blake may have wanted to have with him.

_I wonder if Torchwick or Uma is paying for this? Either way I bet I'll be returning the favour to them for a long time._

Before long the bracelet had been popped off with a convincing '_snap_'as the hinge was pried open. Without saying another word, the man in the coveralls packed up his tools and walked back through the door to Uma's building, leaving the tracker on the ground in front of Blake. Not wanting to bother with it anymore, the Faunus kicked the cause of her woes into the nearest pile of sewage. With a new sense of confidence, Blake walked into the room where Torchwick was lying down.

"Thanks for getting those supplies." Uma said softly, sitting on the operating table that Torchwick was on last time Blake was there. "It'll make his recovery much easier." She continued, motioning to a bed in the room where Torchwick was lying down.

There were a hundred questions Blake wanted to ask Uma right now, but the one that snuck its way onto Blake's tongue was, "What did Cinder do to you?"

Blake knew that Uma was at the head of some gang that semi-rivaled Torchwick's, so to see her so fixated on tending to the man was strange enough as is. That, and Blake hadn't seen a single person from Uma's posse this whole time made her earlier statement about being attacked by Cinder all the more ominous.

"She basically wiped my crew out." Uma responded coldly, avoiding eye contact, "I may very well be the only one from my group alive at this point. She burned one of my warehouses to the ground with everyone I trusted inside, and all I could do was watch." The warrior seemed to be tensing every muscle in her toned arms. "I have to kill her, or my comrades' deaths will have been in vain."

_Okay that just made things more ominous._

It didn't seem like Uma wanted to go into any further details about what Cinder had done, but for now it looked like she was helping Torchwick more so because helping him would mean more people on her side to fight back against the villain.

"Well at least you finally came to your senses and realized that the path to your deepest desires was through me after all!" A weaker than normal sounding Torchwick was already quipping from the cot he was resting on in the corner of the room.

"Good to have you back, Roman." Uma said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Her face was still glistening with sweat, presumably from the hard work she put into tending Torchwick's wounds.

"You and I both know you couldn't live without me" Torchwick responded, propping himself up with his elbows as he laid on his back, redirecting his attention to the other girl in the room, "Well Blake, you gonna thank me for saving you from a lifetime of servitude? Or do I have to shake a can of treats in front of you to get your attention?"

"Oh" Blake replied immediately, too flustered to be offended by Torchwick's blatant racism, "Thanks. I thought it cost 50000 Lien, did you want me to pay you back for it?"

Blake didn't really know what to say. She felt somewhat vulnerable when talking about finances. Even though she could always ask her parents for help, she wanted to be independent, so being in this position made the Faunus uncomfortable.

"Well as much as I hate to admit it, you did save my life. So, lets call it even." Torchwick exclaimed, lying back down and staring at the ceiling.

Neo re-entered the room holding a tray with various things that Blake got from the drug store on it. Laying the tray on the table next to Torchwick, the girl began spooning medicine into the villain's mouth.

"You're a miracle worker, Uma." Torchwick exclaimed as he gulped down different doses from different bottles.

"The only miracle I can't perform is making you learn when to shut your mouth." Uma replied without missing a beat.

Blake caught herself snickering at that remark, bringing the attention of the room back to her. With Torchwick and Uma both looking at her, she figured this was the best time to ask.

"So, what's the plan for taking down Cinder?" Blake asked the room.

"Well" Torchwick started, "You, me, and Neo couldn't take her, so I doubt adding Uma will tip the odds in our favour."

"We need more resources. We need to fight her on our terms." Uma agreed.

"Does she work alone? Maybe we could learn more about her or her operation?" Blake suggested.

"I've heard there may be a couple of people that work close to her, but I haven't seen any of them" Uma said, eyes cold and distant, "I also saw her meeting with a couple of White Fang members, you know anything about that?"

"I saw her talking with a member not too long ago, but I never saw her when I was still with the White Fang."

Blake was confused. She hadn't left the White Fang that long ago, but it seemed strange that they'd be working with a human like Cinder.

_What are you planning Adam?_

"We still don't have what it takes to go after her." Torchwick chimed in, interrupting Blake's chain of thought, "We're a discount Huntsman team, and I don't think an actual one could even take her down with the powers she has."

Hearing Torchwick say '_Huntsman Team_' gave Blake a shiver down her spine. She was supposed to be going to Beacon to make this her profession, but here she was doing all the work of a professional Huntress with none of the training or accolades.

Suddenly the Faunus had an idea.

"What if I went and talked to Professor Ozpin? If Cinder really is plotting to destroy Beacon maybe he can help us get rid of her?"

An air of seriousness fell over the room.

"You're joking, right?" Uma said giving Blake a bewildered stare, "That's…Insane! We're criminals we don't work with guys like that."

"That's why I'll go alone! If anything happens it's all on me. I applied to Beacon anyways so it's not lik-"

"Un-be-lievable!" Roman interrupted, almost laughing, "You take the collar off the cat and she's already trying to run for the woods. You're gonna rat us out, aren't you? Are we not good enough for you? Do you wanna go to Beacon so you can live out your fantasy with your Huntsman team? Well let me be the first one to welcome you back to reality. This is your team. There is no future for you at that school. You can babble all you want about 'doing the right thing' but no one's gonna forget what you've done."

"I'm trying to do what's best. For everyone, even you. If this goes well Cinder will be dealt with and you can all go back to your lives."

Neo quietly grabbed a sketchbook off of one of tables, returned to Roman's side, and began furiously drawing.

Uma, still giving Blake a death glare, shook her head. "I know that we're a means to an end for you, but you're going to have to put us first here. You can do whatever you want with your life but I'm not going to let you backstab us. Go talk to Ozpin if you have to, but we'll be here doing what we do best and if he finds out about us, I'll put a dagger in your back before you've left the campus."

The woman was already drilling a hole through Blake's eyes with her own when she got up and walked over to the Faunus. Blake was quite tall, but Uma towered over her, and Blake had no doubt in her mind that Uma would eviscerate her without breaking a sweat.

"That being said," Uma continued, "We need all the help we can get, so welcome to the team kid."

She outstretched her hand and Blake shook it, worrying about the implications but not wanting to upset the people that had just saved her ass.

"Why do I get the feeling she's gonna get us all killed?" Torchwick sighed, looking over at Neo.

Neo looked back at the villain and smiled, turned her sketchbook to face him. On it the girl had written in stylized letters '_Team URBN'_.

"Thank the Brothers we've got a good team name." Roman responded, rolling his eyes at Neo and lying back down.

Blake caught a glance of Neo's drawing and instantly felt a mix of emotions.

_Well I guess it's only fitting. Who needs Beacon anyways?_


End file.
